Tehran, Granville

Normally when Big Sister is in town we end up having Thai food, as it is a cuisine that is in short (or non) supply in the WA town where she lives.

On this particular evening however I suggest we try Tehran, a Persian restaurant in Granville, and my suggestion is greeted with open arms.  It seems that Persian cuisine is also in short supply in remote WA towns.

I’ve walked past Tehran many times on my way to El Jannah to pick up a charcoal chicken. Tehran’s was often empty, as it was on the night we visited, and Big Sister wonders if this is a bad sign of what lies within.  I often used to think the same thing, but these days I know that often these quiet, sleepy little restaurants are just waiting for willing diners so that they may unleash their culinary delights upon upon them.

As I suspect our meal at Tehran is truly delicious and the service is friendly and accommodating.

It is custom in Iranian cuisine to eat raw onion as well as various herbs throughout the meal as it is believed that this aides in digestion. Our waiter brings over a plate of raw red onion and mint that we pick at during out meal. I'd hazard a guess though that if we actually stopped eating so much food our digestion would be aided even more!

We start our meal with a few dips and bread.  All of the dips sounds really appealing and it is hard to keep our choices down to just a few.  In the end we settle for two eggplant dips (as our family is a big fan of anything to do with eggplant), as well as a Shirazi Salad of finely diced red onion, parsley, lime juice, cucumber and tomato.  The Mast O Khiyar also takes our fancy - a yogurt dip not dissimilar to Tzatziki with its lashings of cucumber and mint throughout.

Both of the eggplants dips are a winner. The Kashk e Badenjan is a fried eggplant dip with onion, garlic, walnut and saffron that is topped with dried whey and fried mint. We all agree it tastes similar to Babaghanoush in a "same same, but different kind of way". The Igra is a smokey eggplant dip mixed with onion, fresh tomatoes,a touch of chilly and a few olives dotted on top for decoration.

Clockwise from left to right: Raw Onion and Mint Plate; Kashk e Badenjan; Shirazi Salad with Mast O Khiyar dip in the background; and, Igra.

Big Sister is not a fan of lamb, which seems to make up the majority of the options for main meals at Tehran. Not to worry as we spy a few beef dishes on the menu that look interesting, and taste wonderful - hearty stewed dishes that warm our bellies on a cold, wintery evening.

The Gheimeh excites the 8 year old within me, not because of the whole dried-lime taking pride of place in the centre of dish, but as the plate is garnished with a liberal sprinkling of crunchy shoestring fries (aka potato chips). I immediately fall in love with a country that serves dinner with a potato chip topping.  The shoestring fries give salty crunch to the casserole of sauteed beef and split peas.  The whole lime is incredibly fragrant and surprisingly it is so tender that we can break up the lime and eat it...and it tastes good!

The other beef dish is the Ghormeh Sabzi, a dish of tender diced beef cooked with kidney beans, dried limes (a staple of many Persian dishes) and dried herbs. This dish doesn't come topped with shoestring fires so I relegate to my second favourite dish of the evening.

As the rest of us at the table are quiet partial to a bit of lamb, we each order a Tehran Special ($19.00). To save table space our meals arrive together on one gloriously large meat-filled platter. The lamb lovers tuck into the mouth-wateringly juicy skewers of marinated lamb backstrap, and minced lamb skewers.  Amongst the lamb we also find beautifully charred chicken kebabs. The platter is garnished with charred green chillis and tomatoes, as well as lemon halves which we squeeze over the meet for a bit of "zing". And, Tehran have even thrown in a extra chicken kebab for the lamb-o-phobe at the table.

And of course not pictured, but consumed wholeheartedly, is the glorious platter of Saffron Rice that accompanied all of our meals.

Tehran is at 44 Railway Parade, Granville.